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Africa’s table tennis powerhouses, Nigeria and Egypt, have been handed tricky groups in the men and women’s events of the 2024 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships (WTTC) holding in Busan, South Korea.
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The draw for the eagerly awaited WTTC Finals Busan 2024 was unfolded yesterday at the Busan e-Sports Arena, signifying a milestone as Korea Republic host this event for the first time.
In a month exactly, from February 16 to 25, the pinnacle of table tennis talent from across the globe will vie for the prestigious title. Nigeria’s men’s team has been drawn in Group 5 alongside Asian giants – Japan and Chinese Taipei, as well as Czech Republic and Madagascar.
The women’s team has Germany, Slovakia, Poland and Mexico to contend with in Group 3 as the top eight from the tournament get automatic tickets to Paris 2024 Olympic Games in France.
African champions, Egypt, will battle in Group 8 of the men’s event against Portugal, Romania, Iran and Thailand, while their ladies’ team will slug it out against European teams – France, Czech Republic, Ukraine and Croatia in Group 8 as well.
Algeria are in Group 4 in the men and women’s events as the men contend with France, Australia, Denmark and Austria, while their women’s contingent will battle Chinese Taipei, USA, Thailand and Chile.
Following the withdrawal of Tunisia’s men and women teams as well as Mauritius’ women team, South Africa was listed among the contenders and they have been pitched against Japan, Brazil, Luxembourg, and Iran in Group 2 of the women’s event.
The defending champions, China, occupy the top-seeded positions in both the men’s and women’s team events as their women are placed in Group 1 with Hungary, India, Spain and Uzbekistan.
While Hungary has a long history of medalling in the championships, they will be hard-pressed to get past the defending champions. Led by World No.1 Sun Yingsha, Team China is chasing their 23rd title in the event and are frontrunners to top the podium once again.
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